Sunspots
by Midnight Caller
Summary: Desert heat and roller coasters. 4th of July in Vegas.


"Sunspots"  
By Midnight Caller  
  
Disclaimer: Okay, so I was driving down the freeway one night and these two very attractive individuals were thumbing for a ride. Naturally, I pulled over, and they hopped in the MidnightcallerMobile. "Hey, I'm Grissom, this is Sara." They told me to take them wherever I was going, even if it was to a dark, disturbing place, or a really lovely tropical island, though they really emphasized wanting to go to the island. So I said, well, how about the fairgrounds? In July? Please? It's for a challenge. After I whined a bit more, they obliged. So, you see, Mr. Bruckheimer, you can't sue me because they voluntarily hitched a ride; it wasn't kidnapping. And I let them go as soon as I was done.   
  
Summary: Response to a challenge for a 4th of July fic. Hot dogs and/or cotton candy, actual kablooey-type fireworks, and an amusement park.   
  
Thanks to Dev, for the challenge, and for persuading me to take the Geeks out to play once more. I should also point out that to accurately reproduce the soundtrack that inspired this piece, pick out a CD and play it 40 times in a row. It's much like repeating the same word to yourself over and over and over. After a while it ceases to have any meaning.  
  
Rating: PG-ish  
  
Feedback: This would make a good name for a punk band. "Opening for the Ramones... FEEDBACK." Oh, yeah -- story. Sorry, it's 4am.  
  
**  
  
The sun was blinding. A white, hot sphere hovering over the horizon like a bird paralyzed mid-flight. What could posses anyone to live out here, much less build a city in a place like this? The heat was simply overpowering, and any exposed flesh was instantaneously scorched. Fainting seemed like welcome option to simply standing still in the thick July air.  
  
Fingers snapping in front of her face woke her from the trance, and she blinked several times, trying to orient herself.   
  
"Sara, I know it's hot, but stay with me, okay?"  
  
When she didn't respond, Grissom touched her lightly on the shoulder. Her head moved slightly. "Come on, let's go." He reached down for his bag, and walked off into the haze.   
  
She finally forced herself to move, and followed closely behind his silhouetted form. To keep herself from drifting back into another heat-induced daydream, she looked around as she walked. Steel beams. Rails. Cars of people, screaming. Yes, that's right, they were at the amusement park. The heat had slowed her mind, but she was pretty sure someone had died.   
  
She looked around for Grissom, but he was suddenly gone, leaving her alone in the yellow-brown miasma. All she wanted to do was sit down on the heavy case she was carrying, and melt into a puddle of cool, clear water. Oh, that sounded good right about now. Maybe if she reached out her hand she would pull it back holding an enormous bottle of cool, clear, spring water, and she could put it to her lips and it would slide down her parched throat like-  
  
"Sara!"   
  
Damn. The bottle was gone. Her head snapped to the side, and she saw Grissom standing near one of the larger steel beams about 15 feet away. Every inch of air on the way over to him pushed against her body, and she was eternally grateful to find some shade in the shadow of the roller coaster.   
  
Her case fell with a clunk to the dusty ground, and she sat down onto it, leaning on her elbows. After a few deep breaths she finally got a good look at Grissom. He was dealing with this environmental sauna more professionally than she was, or maybe he just complained less. His own shirt was pretty much sweat-soaked, and he was breathing heavier than normal. He removed his sunglasses for moment while he wiped the sweat from his nose.   
  
Squatting next to her, he reached into his shoulder bag. "The car's not too far... I just needed to find some shade for a few minutes."   
  
Sara nodded, and then gasped as he removed a bottle of water from his bag. She licked her lips in anticipation as she watched his forearms strain to open the cap. It finally twisted off, and he held the bottle out to her. She looked up over her sunglasses at him, and he made a "go on" gesture with his head.   
  
Her smile made this whole hot, disgusting, hell of a day vanish, if only for a second. At least the sun was on its way down. He gazed out through the wavering air, wondering how anyone could voluntarily be outside on a day like today. It was bad enough they got stuck wrapping up one of day shift's cases, but to be out here on purpose? Inexplicable.   
  
He blinked as water droplets from somewhere sprayed against his face. It was Sara, flicking some of the water from the bottle. His first thought was to chide her for wasting it, but it felt too good. She finally handed over the bottle and he tipped his head back, taking a large swig. Wiping away the excess water from his mouth, he screwed the cap back on and stood up, slowly.   
  
"We should get out of this heat. You ready?" He glanced down at her, watching as she cracked her neck before standing to face him.   
  
"Well, I stopped hallucinating."  
  
He smiled and then bent to pick up his bags. "You're probably just hungry. Let me buy you a hot dog."  
  
"Grissom--"  
  
"No, really, my treat."  
  
"Grissom..." she raised her voice slightly, just to get him to shut up. "A hot dog?"  
  
The realization hit him, and he dropped his head, smiling. "Right. Sorry."  
  
She patted him on the shoulder, and went to pick up her case, groaning as the weight yanked her arm down. "I'll settle for a giant soft pretzel," she remarked as she pulled on his arm, dragging him back out into the light of the setting sun.   
  
-----  
  
The ride was quiet, just the whir of the A/C and the purring of the engine. Grissom steered with one hand, and ate his hot dog with the other. Once in a while he glanced over at Sara, who was silently enjoying her pretzel with mustard.   
  
A few minutes later, they approached a highway junction. "Take this exit, Grissom," she pointed to the sign.   
  
"But CSI is that way---" he jerked his thumb in the opposite direction.   
  
"Just take the exit... please?" The smile convinced him. It was as contagious as a yawn, and he turned the wheel.   
  
After a series of winding mountain roads and lots of "where are we going's", Sara instructed Grissom to pull the Tahoe off the road onto a turnout. They climbed out, and he saw the sharp drop-off several feet in front of the car. From their vantage point, you could see over almost the entire valley that encased the sprawling metropolis of Las Vegas.   
  
The sun said its last goodbyes by painting the sky in rich hues of red and orange. A few small, high-altitude clouds caught the last remaining rays, becoming golden islands in the sky. It was still warm, but without the sun, perspiration was quickly wicked away by the night air.   
  
Sara pushed herself onto the hood of the Tahoe and leaned back onto her hands. Grissom looked back over his shoulder at her and smiled. "It's beautiful. How do you know about this place?"   
  
"You sure you want to know?"  
  
"Of course," he sidled up next to her on the hood and grinned.   
  
"Catherine and I worked a d.b. about two hundred yards from here." She watched as the grin faded and he quickly glanced around into the growing darkness. The gesture made her laugh, and he raised a suspicious eyebrow.   
  
"I never heard about this d.b. ..."  
  
The warm light had softened his features, and she quieted her laugh to smile at him. "I'll get you the file."  
  
"Uh-huh." He leaned back on his elbows. "So ... what are we doing here?"  
  
"Shhh ... just wait, you'll see."   
  
As orange and red were slowly overtaken by cobalt, the lights of the city sparkled like diamonds on a necklace. Grissom watched as the strip radiated its neon beacon out to space, and that's when it started. A bright stream of light suddenly shot out from the South end of the strip, and then exploded in an umbrella of color.   
  
The sound finally caught up with its luminous counterpart. A muffled popping of sorts, almost like muted clapping.   
  
Another streak of light jetted out into the night, bursting into fingers of sparkles and raining down toward the ground.   
  
The event repeated several times, each with more brilliance and magnitude than the last. At one point it seemed every firework in Las Vegas had been ignited, producing a twinkling halo over the city.   
  
It was fitting end to the display. Grissom looked over at Sara, who returned his smile.   
  
He cocked his head as if realizing something, and then reached out toward her. He stopped just shy of her mouth. "You have some mustard ... right here," he demonstrated on his mouth. She looked slightly embarrassed, and ran the back of her hand over her lips, missing the spot entirely.   
  
Finally, he reached over and gently wiped the corner of her mouth. Her eyed widened as she watched him watching her. After what seemed like an eternity, he withdrew his hand. "Got it," he remarked, wiping his finger on his shirt.   
  
Before she even had a chance to process the gesture he turned onto his back again. "That was really nice. Thanks."   
  
"Anytime." She took one last look at him and then shifted onto her back, folding her hands behind her head. She didn't even try to stop the smile. "Happy Fourth of July, Grissom."   
  
  
(Fin.) 


End file.
